WANAKA NEW ZEALAND ATTRACTIONS
Wanaka has the considerable attraction that it's still essentially a country village, not as developed as Queenstown, though the number of million dollar homes being built there are gradually eroding that sense of simplicity.
In winter time it is particularly popular because of two superb skifields, Cardrona and Treble Cone, nearby. But in summer the lake and the nearby Aspiring National Park take centre stage.
Wanaka's more curious attractions is Cinema Paradiso. "Casual" is the only possible description - you sit on old living room type sofas, not theatre style stalls. Or you could choose the front seats of a Morris Minor car. Homemade ice cream and cookies at intermission or order a meal and a glass of wine. Whatever you fancy get there early to book the best couch!
And another curiosity: Stuart Landsborough's Puzzling World. The Landsborough family is old time heritage here - they even have a river named after them. Stuart has built one of the quirkiest tourist attractions imaginable. It started as a 3-dimensional maze but blossomed into a full-out assault on your powers of reason, deduction and even disbelief.
If you'd like to up the voltage and get some serious adrenalin rushes try canyoning on the Matukituki River with Deep Canyon or kayaking on several of the local rivers with Alpine Kayak Guides. You could try tandem paragliding at Treble Cone with Wanaka Paragliding. How about jet boating on the mighty Clutha River with Lakeland Adventures (they also rent kayaks canoes and aqua bikes) or on the remote Wilkin River with Wilkin River Jets
Up in the Cardrona Valley, at the Snow Farm, professional rally drivers from Monster Mountain Rally will race up hills in a performance spec Mitsubishi Evo at unbelievable speeds.
Wanaka lies at the lip of the Mt Aspiring National Park and as such it has a wide variety of open-air adventure options. Track walking is an obvious one - but there are others. If you've ever wanted to try rock climbing here's a chance - talk to Wanaka Rock Climbing and Abseiling Adventures. If you are into serious mountain climbing then have a yarn to Aspiring Guides, one of the country's pre-eminent mountain guiding teams.
Something less vertical in the personal sense is the Siberia Experience - no, not hewing salt in one of the gulags. This starts with a 25min flight into Mt Aspiring National Park, then a 2 1/2 hour walk starting in the Siberia Valley to finish with a 30 min jet boat ride with Wilkin River Jets.
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